Renee Montgomery scored 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting as the reigning WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx defeated the host New York Liberty in their first preseason game of 2016.
Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore added 10 points each, as the Lynx held on despite leading by as many as 18 late in the third quarter.
Minnesota led New York 25-10 after the first quarter behind eight points from Fowles, last year's Finals MVP. The Lynx led 44-31 at halftime and 61-50 after three quarters before New York pulled within one with 3:27 to play on a Sugar Rogers 3-pointer.
Minnesota held on thanks to free throws by Bashaara Graves and baskets by Montgomery and Sydney Wallace in the final three minutes. The Liberty's Shoni Schimmel missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt with 6.1 seconds remaining.
Rogers led New York with 22 points in 18 minutes, and Tina Charles added 10.
The Lynx continue wrap up their preseason Sunday vs. the Washington Mystics at the Rochester, Minn., Civic Center. They begin regular-season play May 14 vs. the Phoenix Mercury at the Target Center.
